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Vance defends public prayer after tragic shooting: ‘God listens’ and inspires ‘further action’

Vance defends public prayer after tragic shooting: ‘God listens’ and inspires ‘further action’

Grace Porto
Grace Porto
· 3 min read
Vance defends public prayer after tragic shooting: ‘God listens’ and inspires ‘further action’

Vice President JD Vance this week defended the importance of prayer in the face of tragedy after several prominent Democrats criticized calls for prayer for the victims of the tragic shooting of Catholic schoolchildren in Minneapolis. 

On Aug. 27, 23-year-old gunman Robin Westman opened fire on Catholic school students at Annunciation Catholic Church during the first morning Mass of the school year. He killed an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injured 17 other victims, most of whom were also children. Westman formerly attended the K-8 school. During his teens, he began identifying as a “transgender” woman, changing his name from Robert to Robin.

While numerous Catholic leaders and Trump administration officials — Including Vance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem — called on the public to pray for the victims of the tragedy, some public figures took a different view.

Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey stated in a press conference, “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.”

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki criticized calls for “thoughts and prayers” as a response to the tragedy, stating in a post on X, “Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”

Vance responded with an explanation of the importance of prayer at these times.

“We pray because our hearts are broken. We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways, and can inspire us to further action,” the vice president wrote. “Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”

In another X post, Vance stated: “It is shocking to me that so many left wing politicians attack the idea of prayer in response to a tragedy. Literally no one thinks prayer is a substitute for action.”